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- Oil palm cultivation needs soil preparation before planting. The plantation soil should be fertilised with well-decomposed organic matter and cleaned from weeds. Plantation tilling improves the soil structure.
- Prepare land early enough (December to January) in preparation for the first planting season and then (May to June) for the second season.
- Oil palm grows in conditions of adequate rainfall of above 1,800mm per annum, evenly distributed throughout the year and temperatures ranging between a minimum of 22-24°C and a maximum of 29-33°C. This means that all areas around Lake Victoria, Lake Kyoga and the Albert region can support growing it.
- To get a good yield from cultivation, oil palm trees must be planted at the right density. The plant sprouts are spaced in a triangular pattern with enough spacing for growing (9x9x9m) in pits about 60cm3. This planting method allows placing around 145 plants per hectare.
- Efficient plant cultivation is secured with a sufficient supply of macro and micronutrients, including nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. With a lack of nutrients, adequate growing is impossible.
- Fertilisation practices for oil palm plantations recommend nutrient application in equal splits, sourcing from farmyard and green mature and synthetic products. Common ways to provide nutrients in the crop’s cultivation are soil incorporation, scattering, or fertigation. Oil palm plantation fertiliser requirements differ depending on the tree age, with bigger amounts for mature plants.
